Photograph by: Mark van Manen
, PNG

VANCOUVER - Not getting the opportunity to race at the 2010 Olympics remains “a huge disappointment” because it may not be reachable again, but multiple Paralympic gold medallist Brian McKeever says he will try to double at Sochi in 2014.

The visually-impaired cross country skier from Canmore, Alta., won three gold medals at the 2010 Paralympics in Whistler’s Callaghan Valley. And it was a Games, he says, that has made a big difference in how sport for athletes with a disability is viewed in Canada.

The media attention, live broadcasting of events, the party atmosphere that spilled over from the Olympics and the recognition on the street for Paralympians “had never happened before in my previous two Paralympics,” McKeever said Monday on a conference call to mark the one year anniversary of the 2010 Games.

“The Paralympics was always kind of a side show. The Olympics is over, let’s just get through it. But Canada continued to celebrate . . . and that was a huge step for us.”

Legally blind since his teens as a result of Stargaard’s disease, McKeever skis behind a guide in para-nordic events but skis alone in able-bodied events. He can make out shadowy outlines in front of him and tries to follow competitors with similar speed.

McKeever became a huge international story in the leadup to the Olympics after he qualified to compete with able-bodied athletes. It appeared he was going to get a chance to race the gruelling 50-kilometre event, but at the last moment the Canadian coaching staff decided to go with national team members it felt had skied well in earlier events in the Olympics and deserved another shot.

McKeever said he understood the rationale for the decision but was upset at the the way the decision was handled and how Cross Country Canada officials had not made it clear before the Games that McKeever was not guaranteed a spot in the race.

“It’s always going to be a huge disappointment,” said McKeever. “To work a long time to achieve a dream that’s that big, that’s that hard to do. Racing at the Olympics is a pretty exclusive club. It would have been a nice thing to be a part of that because you’re never sure what’s going to happen [in the future].

“I’m going on 32 and you’re never sure you’re going to get back at that level. It’s one chance every four years and you could have sickness or injury at a bad time and you’re done. So those thoughts are always nagging at you, but you just have to forget about it, let it go and think positive.”

McKeever, who finished 11th in the 10-kilometre race Saturday at the Canadian national cross-country championships in Canmore and will race the 50K on Saturday, may have an even tougher time qualifying for 2014 than he did for 2010 given the talent and depth on the men’s team.

But he doesn’t see it that way.

“They’re the guys I’ve been training with all along and see on a regular basis and them having success is really good for the entire program. To see friends and teammates doing so well is exciting.”

McKeever said it was a “great feeling”watching Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey win sprint relay gold recently at the world nordic championships in Norway “That makes us all ski faster and shows us the potential is there.”

McKeever’s 2010-2011 season, in which he’s raced some able-bodied Nor-Am events and some lower tier events in Europe, has been derailed twice by illness. He had a sinus infection in November and a chest infection two weeks ago.

He hasn’t raced a single IPC para-nordic World Cup event and now has to go to the IPC world championships in Russia starting March 29 with a backup guide after his long-time guide, brother Robin, had surgery recently for a torn ACL.

Young para-nordic competitor Mark Arendz, who is missing part of his right arm, finished second in biathlon on the IPC para-nordic circuit.

The wheelchair curling gold medal rink, skipped by Jim Armstrong of Richmond, won the 2011 world championships earlier this month in the Czech Republic, beating Scotland 7-3 in the final and going undefeated at 11-0.

The Canadian sledge hockey team, which finished out of the medals in Vancouver, was second Monday at tournament in Japan, losing the final 1-0 to Norway.

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